Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 3,148 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,052 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 3,148 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $7,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $731,041,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,967,363 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,567,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939,554 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1,039.4% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 590,063 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $176,694,000 after acquiring an additional 538,274 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in The Cigna Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,833,753 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,385,282,000 after purchasing an additional 345,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in The Cigna Group by 127.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 566,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $169,558,000 after purchasing an additional 317,081 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 0.1 %

The Cigna Group stock opened at $352.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $349.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $316.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $103.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.56. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $240.50 and a one year high of $365.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $51.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.91 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 2.64%. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total transaction of $12,760,149.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total transaction of $12,760,149.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 6,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $2,068,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 44,649 shares in the company, valued at $15,180,660. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CI shares. Barclays started coverage on The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $370.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.14.

About The Cigna Group

The Cigna Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and related products and services in the United States. Its Evernorth Health Services segment provides a range of coordinated and point solution health services, including pharmacy benefits, home delivery pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, distribution, and care delivery and management solutions to health plans, employers, government organizations, and health care providers.